The present invention relates to a flexible fender mount for a vehicle having a steerable wheel on an axle.
Many farm tractors have fenders for the front wheels to control the splattering of mud and snow. But, such fenders may engage a body panel or the frame of the tractor when the front wheels are turned at a sharp angle. This can cause damage to the fender or to the body panel, or it may limit the turn angle and maneuverability of the tractor. This may be especially a problem for row crop tractor which has wheels which are set narrowly for use in row crops. Various designs have been proposed in attempts to solve this problem by having the fender be pivotal with respect to the tractor. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,074,573 issued Dec. 24, 1991 to Dick, shows a flexible mounting for a fender for a steerable wheel wherein fender support arms are fixed to a sleeve which is rotatable on a shaft fixed to a front frame part and a torsion spring couples the sleeve to the shaft. This design includes a separate stop which is mounted on the axle and which engages a fender support arm to prevent engagement between the fender and a body panel of the tractor. This design requires the operator or a mechanic to adjust a fender stop based on tire size or tread width.
A flexible fender mount for a vehicle having a steerable wheel on an axle is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,511,808, issued in 1996 and assigned to the assignee of this application. This fender mount has a bracket fixed to the axle, an arm fixed to the fender and a flexible bushing coupled between the bracket and the arm. The bushing is rotatably flexible about a torsion axis and is bendably flexible in directions transverse to the torsion axis. The bushing includes a flexible core and a pair of wedge-shaped end caps fixed to opposite ends of the core. The bushing has a central axis which is tilted rearwardly with respect to a fore-and-aft axis of the wheel and which is tilted away from the wheel.
Another flexible fender mount is used on production John Deere tractors. This fender mount has a housing fixed to the axle. A hollow rubber bushing is received in the housing. The bushing is molded onto the outer surface of a hollow metal bushing. A keyway is formed on an inner surface of the bushing. An end of a fender support rod is received by the bushing and is retained by a bolt which is screwed into a threaded bore in the end of the rod. The support rod end has a slot. The keyway and the slot receive a key which prevents the rod from rotating relative to the bushing. The rod is welded to a curved rigid fender bracket which is bolted to and stiffens an inner surface of the fender.
It would be desirable to have an inexpensive and simple flexible fender mount.